Strengthening the start-up intensity in Münsterland - this was the goal of the Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland initiative, which was active from 2019 to 2022. As a successor initiative to the established Gründergeist@Münsterland project, which supported people wanting to start a business, Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland was to tap into new start-up potential and target groups with target group-specific offers. To this end, the project focused on two areas: schools and business succession.
Measures included (online) workshops, video tutorials and information material for the target group of pupils. The aim was to participate in the ideas competition in autumn 2022. Workshops, networking events and a podcast were offered to potential successors.
The initiative was funded under the ERDF call "Regio.NRW" and worked with the following project partners:
In more than three years, events have been organised and information material has been produced to support start-ups. A selection from three exciting years of Youngstarts:
Project launch
Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland is launched and the planning of the first measures begins.
Concept development phase completed
The concept development phase of the project has been completed: The target group (personas) has been defined and the selection of offers has been developed through a design thinking process.
First webinar
Company succession - a question of personality? Youngstarts invites you to a webinar with Claudia Hoffmann on the topic of entrepreneurial personality. The next webinar will take place one week later.
First podcast episode
The first episode of the Youngstarts podcast "Company Succession in Münsterland" is recorded and published. Company successor Johannes Austermann tells how he took over the Scala Filmtheater in Warendorf. A total of 31 episodes were produced!
First newsletter
Youngstarts sends out its first newsletter! Every month, interested parties will find information on the topic of founding a company.
First presence workshop
The first face-to-face workshop with Klaus Tilly on the topic of entrepreneurial personality takes place.
Digi Meet
Youngstarts invites to the online live event "#Youngstarts Business Succession Digi Meet" on 26 November. Around 70 participants learned about how business succession works.
"A round of succession"
The first interactive expert talk round incl. networking character on the topic of digitalisation and cultural change is taking place. Under the title "A Round of Succession - The Thementalk for Business Succession", Youngstarts will regularly invite exciting personalities from June 2021 to tell more about self-employment and taking over an existing business.
First digital Start-up Week
How to develop their own business idea and present it convincingly, and what path other founders have taken, is what young people from Year 10 of the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium in Münster learned during the first digital Start-up Week.
Video tutorials
Video tutorials on the topic of start-up are being completed and published on the Youngstarts page. The three tutorials give students helpful tips on brainstorming, presentation and product video.
First Presence Start-up Week
Pupils of the Anne-Frank-Realschule in Ahaus took part in the first presence start-up week of Youngstarts. This was followed by seven more Start-up Weeks, three of them in Münster and four in Warendorf.
Founder report about Lasse Kortenbrede
Lasse is founding his first start-up alongside his A-levels. He took his first start-up steps with the help of Youngstarts. His start-up story is told in a video report published on the Youngstarts website.
Business Successor Videos
The video about company successor Julius Gräler is completed and published. Julius has taken over the succession of the company Kootstra Rad- und Schiffsreisen. In the videos, the man from Münsterland gives an insight into his career as an entrepreneur.
Ideas competition
The Youngstarts ideas competition is entering the hot phase! A jury of experts will review and evaluate all submitted start-up ideas. Three teams can prevail: The winning teams from the Start-up Weeks from Münster and from the district of Warendorf as well as one winning team from the additional entries.
The final event of Youngstarts will take place under the name "Transformation Münster.LAND sustainable - cosmopolitan - digital" together with the project Enabling Networks at the M44 in Münster. The results of the project will be presented, but above all a look will be taken at the region's new regional economic strategy.